Bring It
by SBNYC09
Summary: Rachel mouths off during glee practice, when the Cheerios claim to be too exhausted from cheerleading practice to do anything in glee. Rachel thinks they're lazy and it can't be hard to handle both. The Cheerios plan to prove her wrong. Eventual Faberry
1. Chapter 1: Big Talker

Summary: Rachel mouths off during glee practice, when the Cheerios claim to be too exhausted from Cheerios practice to do anything in glee. Rachel thinks they're lazy and it can't be hard to handle both. The Cheerios plan to prove her wrong.

This is a completely AU story. No Finchel, possible FaBerry and tons of Unholy Trinity fun with Rachel. Enjoy and please R&R.

**A/N**

I wrote this story a while ago and I intended to do a sequel, but I lost the notes I made for it, so now I'm revisiting it and making corrections in preparation for rewriting the sequel I had planned.

Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah…I don't own Glee, the characters or anything associated with either…blah, blah, blah…belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox…blah, blah….blah, blah.

Chapter 1: Big Talker

"Hey _Rachel_."

Bad things come in threes. That's all Rachel could think, when three of the Cheerios approached her after glee practice. Quinn, who looked better than she did pre babygate, approached her flanked by Santana and Brittany.

"Hello guys. Glee practice went well today, don't you think? Santana you should really try for a solo. I can find some songs that would be great for your range." She tried not to let her nervousness show, but the three taller girls were intimidating in their uniforms just staring and smiling. It was really starting to freak her out. Actually she was beyond freaking out, especially when Santana winked at her.

"Quiet Manhands." Okay, so apparently Quinn was the spokesperson for today. The command lacked all of the bite and superiority of last year and was even accompanied by a small smile, devious as that smile appeared to be. "I've got a challenge for you."

Rachel was mentally dialing her therapist and trying to remember if she updated her memoirs and Living Will this month, because she just knew this wasn't going to end well.

"A challenge?" She was quite dismayed to hear to hear a noticeable squeak in her voice. She tried to clear her throat and make her voice sound stronger, but she still felt shaky. "What kind of challenge?"

"We're going to make you regret your comment from earlier."

Rachel physically sighed in relief. "You have got to be kidding me. That's what this was about." She already felt like she was on more sure footing.

Flashback: 30 Minutes Ago

Rachel sat in the front row and watched as Mr. Schue discussed choreography for a new song. He was trying to get everyone to his level of enthusiasm, but it just wasn't working.

"Sorry Mr. Schue, but we're going to have to sit this one out. Ms. Sylvester had us working like really hard yesterday. I'm still sore."

Rachel rolled her eyes and turned to face the Santana, the Cheerio who had spoken. "Oh please. How hard can it be. Clap, clap, stomp. Clap, clap, stomp. Clap, clap, hip shake, shimmy, clap, clap, stomp, stomp." She rested the back of her hand against her forehead and acted faint. "Gosh, I'm so exhausted."

Santana glared at her as Quinn chimed in. "Have you met Sue Sylvester? You know it's _much_ harder than that. A showtune I can sing in my sleep, but one of Sue Sylvester's death defying routines takes skill."

"Need I remind you that I won talent shows before I could walk or talk."

"They give awards for not being able to walk or talk? Like for just laying there? Santana can we join a talent show like that. If Rachel can win it we could be like really good."

"I'll volunteer to help you practice for that one Britt."

Brittany smiled and bounced in her seat happily and clapped, while Rachel and the other two Cheerios glared at Puck for his remark and rolled their eyes. "This isn't a stupid pageant Treasure Trail. You couldn't last five seconds as a Cheerio."

"As if you could last a nano-second on stage. Maybe I'm just good at multi-tasking, but I'm sure it can't be that hard to handle shaking pom-poms and performing for glee. When I'm a star I'll have to deal with being on stage, doing films as well as media interviews. High school is just practice."

Before any of the Cheerios could retort, Mr. Schue stepped into the argument. "Enough! Quinn, Britt and Santana, sit this out and watch. Maybe by watching us run through it, when you're feeling better you can step right in. Everyone else let's try to run through this a couple of times."

Quinn and her fellow Cheerios smiled in satisfaction while Rachel rolled her eyes and got up with a toss of her hair. The rest of the class was spent with the class running through the routine while the Cheerios smirked and looked on. When the bell rang, Rachel was more than ready to head home – until she found her way blocked by three Cheerios staring her down.

Present:

"You talked a big game Berry. Now it's time to put your money where your mouth is."

"Excuse me?"

The Cheerios couldn't look more mischievous. "Tomorrow we're going to arrange for you to try out for the Cheerios. Let's see how well you can really handle it."

Rachel's eyes widened as the reason for the Cheerio's approaching her became clear.


	2. Chapter 2: Challenges

Summary: The Cheerios have a plan to show Rachel the consequences of always trying to be right. Can Rachel handle it?

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything associated with Glee or it's characters.

Chapter 2: Challenge

"You have got to be fucking kidding me."

"Oh my god Rachel just cursed." While Quinn and Santana merely raised their eyebrows and smiled wider at Rachel's language, Brittany actually got a little excited – once again bouncing and clapping.

"Can't handle it Berry? Too bad, if you could get a spot you could be on top. You look like a girl who just _loves _to be on top."

Rachel's eyes widened again at Santana's obvious sexual innuendo, before focusing on Quinn again.

"On top?" There was that damn squeak again.

Quinn rolled her eyes at Rachel's skittish behavior. "Of the pyramid Rach. What else could we possibly talking about?" Her innocent look was belied by the smirk still playing across her lips. Rachel was positive her gulp was audible.

"Sue Sylvester hates me – "

Quinn stopped her. "No Sue hates Mr. Schue. She hates glee club and she really hates Jillian Michaels. She doesn't hate you personally."

"Jillian Michaels?"

Santana shrugged. "She used to be overweight."

Rachel nodded and absorbed this information the same way she would if someone were trying to explain the intricacies of The Matrix. "So when I land a spot on Cheerios, what will that prove?"

"_If_ you land a spot, you'll prove us wrong. But since we know what you're going to be in for and know that there is no way your tiny ass can handle it, you'll have to eat your words – in front of the entire glee club. Oh and hand over a solo each to Santana and I."

"What about me?"

Both Quinn and Santana looked equal parts annoyed and amused as they turned towards Brittany. "What's a solo Britt?" Quinn waited for a few seconds, and when she was met with silence and Britt's 'thinking face', she turned back to Rachel. "So….what do you say? Are you game?"

Rachel didn't hesitate. She knew she had an issue with always having to be right, and that the Cheerios were taking advantage of that, but she just _knew_ she could do this. "Sure. How hard can it be."

"That's what she said!"

The three girls all looked at Britt, semi shocked that she actually made sense and curious as to where her head was half the time. Britt just shrugged and started twirling the ends of her ponytail. The normally spaced out look was back on her face immediately. "So can I go? Clearly I'm going to have some work to do."

Quinn smirked at her while Santana leaned in to speak near her ear. "What work? You're gonna totally rock this, right?" Rachel was already freaking out at Santana's close proximity and her words. She nearly jumped out of her skin when Santana lightly slapped Rachel on her butt, her hand going under her skirt a bit, as she moved aside and allowed Rachel to get to the door.

If it weren't for her not wanting to show the Cheerio's that they had any kind of effect on her, Rachel would've been halfway to her car by now. As it was she was trying not to shake as she slowly and purposefully made her way to the door of the classroom. She had one foot in the hallway when she heard her name again. She turned slightly to look at them over her shoulder.

"Rachel. See you at noon tomorrow." Quinn smiled when she spoke as if she could sense Rachel's discomfort.

"And if I see anything resembling from your 'To Catch a Predator wardrobe – such as,plaid, argyle, knee socks, Mary Janes or any kind of animal sweater – " Santana paused her spiel and stopped ticking off items on her fingers and smirked for effect, before lowering her voice. "You're trying out in your training bra and tightie whities, ¿Lo entiendes?

Rachel gave up trying to hide how she really felt. She was out of the classroom and down the hall in the blink of an eye. She paused for a moment to catch her breath. Happy to see that she was far enough from the classroom, she also allowed herself a moment to release a little pent up emotion. "Fuck!"

When she heard the Cheerios giggling from the classroom and Brittany's voice, she grabbed her stuff again and continued walking as fast as she could until she reached her car.

Back in the classroom, the three Cheerios couldn't help but laughing quietly. Quinn playfully slapped Santana on the arm. "S, I think we scared her, and it's no wonder with all of those sexual innuendos. She looks like a girl who _loves_ to be on top? Trying out in mens underwear? Really?"

"What? I call it like I see it." Santana shrugged her shoulders and offered half a smile. "When we all decided to call that truce at the beginning of the year, I figured if she isn't going to be a troll, than I can acknowledge her hotness. And the midget diva is definitely hot. Seriously, her skirts are like barely there and if you push the mute button in your mind – you can just sit back and enjoy the view."

When they all heard Rachel curse loudly out in the hall they took one look at each other and started giggling, not even trying to be quiet this time. Brittany was the first to recover since her attention seemed to wonder off.

"Rachel cursed again." For once she wasn't bouncing and clapping like a game show contestant. She looked almost…thoughtful. "I don't think she's _that _much of a goody - goody guys. I guess she really deserved to win those laying down shows."

The other Cheerios just shook their heads and chose not to tell Britt all the things wrong with her train of thought, mainly because there was actually some kind of logic there. They instead dragged her out into the now empty hall and to Quinn's car for the ride home. Quinn and Santana were looking forward to seeing Rachel's tryout tomorrow. Brittany was imagining having Puck and Rachel together for the laying down competition. A small smile played on her lips as she twirled her hair while she enjoyed her fantasy and partially ignored Quinn and Santana's talk of how Rachel's legs would look in a Cheerio's skirt.

**Yay, another chapter done. I'm not quite sure how many chapters this is going to be, but I promise it won't drag on forever and I'll update frequently. Hope you enjoyed!**

**Coming up next: Rachel prepares for tryouts, and has a private freakout moment as she thinks about having to tryout in front of the other Cheerios, and Sue Sylvester….and Quinn and god help her Santana. How exactly does a high-maintenance diva unwind?**


	3. Chapter 3: Ready, Set, Freakout!

Summary: Rachel prepares for tryouts, and has a private freakout moment as she thinks about having to tryout in front of the other Cheerios, and Sue Sylvester….and Quinn and god help her Santana. How exactly does a high-maintenance diva unwind?

Disclaimer: Same as before, I still don't own Glee. If I did I suspect it would be Puckleberry/Faberry madness with a little Brittanna thrown in for spice. ; - )

Chapter 3: Ready, Set…Freakout!

Rachel made it home on autopilot. She didn't know why she was so freaked out and nervous, all she knows is that at some point she stopped thinking and let her mouth write a check that she was going to have to cash at noon tomorrow. She wanted to throw a temper tantrum, like an all out overdramatic diva fit. Unfortunately she didn't have time for that. As soon as she got into her house, she grabbed a couple of bottles of water and made her way to her room. She turned on her TV, Xbox and her computer. She had a lot of work to do and not a lot of time. She literally had to become a cheerleader overnight.

She signed onto Xbox live, ignoring the urge to play a round of Halo or Gears of War – she wasn't normally violent, and would never share this fact with anyone, but she found it utterly satisfying to pretend she was shooting Jesse and Vocal Adrenaline, except Shelby of course – and looked for Bring it On on one of her Netflix screen names. Then she turned to her computer and signed onto Netflix with another screen name and looked up Fired Up. She stood back and managed to pay attention to both movies, pausing one when the other movie showed an interesting routine and vice versa. She did this through both movies and then with the Bring it On sequels. As she watched the movies, she realized that she had done most of these moves at some point in her life. As a child she was dedicated to gymnastics and ballet, and only moved on to being so completely into performing in high school. She always sang, and she always knew that she would be a famous performer, but when she was younger she also loved as much physical activity as she could get into. Once she got to High School and realized how busy her schedule would be, she put ballet and gymnastics aside. She instead took up other forms of dance that would keep her just as flexible and physically active, but not require the same commitment and dedication. Before she even stepped foot into William McKinley High School she just knew that she would be wholeheartedly dedicated to Glee and Drama and that anything else in her life couldn't be as demanding. It's odd that she never considered Cheerios as an option to keep her as physically fit, active and flexible as she wanted to be. She immediately felt more relaxed once she realized that it really wasn't going to be as challenging as the Cheerios made it seem. She l once again searched for Bring it On on her Xbox and then turned to her computer to bring up YouTube. There she did a simple search for cheerleading. She spent the next couple of hours adding to her already copious notes and planning out a routine. She tried to ignore the fact that she was purposefully seeking out more provocative moves with Quinn and Santana in mind.

When she felt like she had prepared a more than adequate routine that showcased all of her impressive skills – skills she felt easily surpassed anything she had ever seen the Cheerios do during a game – she turned off her TV and Xbox and put her computer to sleep. She already had plans on to go over her routine several times early in the morning, this time downstairs so that she could really run through her flips and cartwheels. She knew she could definitely do it – earlier in the year she and the other Cheerios were actually partnered together for a performance that Mr. Schue had set up for them because they were the only ones who could do flips and cartwheels, and her and Brittany were the only ones who could do splits – but she wanted chance to go through the entire routine in a space which was big enough that she wouldn't have to worry about hurting herself. Practicing her routine could replace her usual morning elliptical session. Next she had to lay out clothes. She wasn't sure if Santana didn't want to see her in any of her usual clothes at all tomorrow or just during the tryout, but Rachel wasn't about to tempt fate. She pulled out a pair of skinny jeans, a low-cut, cold-shoulder top and shoes. Just to be on the safe side, she also pulled out a hot pink bra and boyshort set that she had ordered from Victoria's Secret. She tried to ignore the fact that she was pulling out some of her sexier items with Quinn and Santana on her mind. She spent a lot of time trying to ignore just how many things she was doing tonight with Quinn and Santana on her mind.

She quickly undressed and got into bed, not bothering with nightclothes. She turned off her light and quickly rolled over with every intention of falling asleep. Forty-five minutes later found her still awake and clearly frustrated. Every single time she closed her eyes she felt Santana's breath near her ear she and saw the smirks on either of the girl's faces. When another thirty minutes had gone by and she was still not asleep she gave up and just stared at her ceiling. She didn't know where these feelings came from all of a sudden, but it was driving her insane. Sure, she had always noticed the way the Cheerio's looked in their uniforms – Truer words were never spoken than when Quinn said God bless the perv who invented these in reference to the short cheerleading skirt a Cheerio was twirling around in – they were like sex on legs, but she had never obsessed over any of them like this. She had also fantasized about women before – there was a reason went she went back to watching the first Bring it On, Eliza Dushku was ridiculously attractive, and coincidentally a cheerleader – but that wasn't at all like fantasizing about girls who used to antagonize her until just recently, as in the beginning of this school year. It was weird that her mind was able to switch gears so easily.

Thoughts of Santana and Quinn ran through her head non-stop. Brittany made occasional cameos, but Santana and Quinn clearly had the dominant personalities and so were the main focus of her fantasies. She found she really liked being dominated by the taller girls. Together they were like classic good cop/bad cop with a lesbian twist. She wasn't surprised by how quickly her thoughts turned to a sexual nature. She imagined herself sandwiched between Santana and Quinn, with her sitting on top of Santana while Quinn teased her from behind. Her hands seemed to develop a mind of their own as they started playing with her nipples, much how she imagined Quinn would, alternating between pinching and light caresses. She arched into her other hand as she quickly thrust two fingers into her wetness and thought that Santana would do so just as roughly and without warning. She bit her lip to fight back a moan as she used her thumb to rub her clit as she imagined Santana kissing her lips and Quinn kissing the back of her neck. In a few moments she quickly stopped playing with her nipples and brought that arm to her mouth and bit down on her forearm because she just knew if she didn't she would scream and wake half the neighborhood (she's not even joking or exagerating, because she's already proven how well she hit can a perfect high F note). She felt herself get even wetter as she clenched tightly around her own fingers. She felt her back arched completely off the bed as her orgasm raced through her body. It took several moments before she finally went limp. Oddly enough she suddenly had no problems falling asleep. Her entire body felt boneless and at that moment it was easy to 'forget' that had her mouth not been covered she probably would have screamed out Quinn or Santana's name. Within moments she had drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face and thoughts of Cheerios dancing through her head.

* * *

**Another one up! Go me, Go me…yeah let's ignore that little happy dance that just happened. Three updates in one day. I promise another update within the week because sadly I go back to work and won't have quite as much time on my hands until my next day off. I hope you enjoyed, and please continue to review and add alerts because it really does fuel me to keep writing. I never understood when authors used to say that until I started writing and I realized that getting notifications of alerts and reviews REALLY does feed my sickness and now you've created a monster, lol.**

**Coming up next (soon I hope): Quinn, Brittany and Santana anticipate Rachel's performance. Rachel gets herself ready for whatever Sue Sylvester and the Cheerios could throw at her. Kurt and Mercedes approves of Rachel's new look and consider burning everything else in her closet. Puck and Finn threaten to slushie Korofsky.**


	4. Chapter 4: New Look, New Attitude

Summary: Quinn, Brittany and Santana anticipate Rachel's performance. Rachel gets herself ready for whatever Sue Sylvester and the Cheerios could throw at her. Kurt and Mercedes approves of Rachel's new look and consider burning everything else in her closet. Puck and Finn threaten to slushie Karofsky

Disclaimer: Still just playing with Glee for a while. I don't own anything, but a few twisted ideas : - ) Enjoy!

Chapter 4: New Look, New Attitude

"You know, Rachel is a really good dancer."

The three Cheerios were standing in Brittany's room getting ready for school the next day. Quinn nods and Santana shrugs her shoulders. "I've had dance classes with her before, and she was almost as good as me. Why did we give her that dare again?"

Both girls regarded Brittany again. It was always shocking when the taller blonde said something that wasn't completely brainless, and she actually did it more often than anyone ever gave her credit for.

"Boredom"

"Her legs would look _so_ hot in a uniform."

"She's like really tiny."

Quinn doing something out of boredom and Santana thinking about checking out Rachel's legs made sense, but Brittany's answer to her own question caused them both to pause and briefly give Brittany their full attention. Brittany shrugged back at the two girls. "You just wanna lift her and toss her about and stuff." That actually made sense. Both girls shrugged and went back to adding the finishing touches to their makeup with Rachel on their minds. Today was definitely going to be an interesting day. Neither girl had any real interest in a solo and neither girl expected to have one. This was just an opportunity to mess with Rachel a little and get her out of her comfort zone. There was really no doubting the petite the diva when she put her mind to something, and she would make a pretty hot Cheerio. Who wouldn't want to lift her and toss her around….and stuff.

Rachel had already been up for over three hours. She drank her vegan protein shake while she created a custom playlist for her tryout. She spent the next few hours repeatedly going through her entire routine. She had painstakingly perfected it, and was very happy to see that it was completely flawless. After showering and blow-drying her hair she got dressed in the clothes she laid out the night before and pulled her hair into a high ponytail. She had to admit she looked really cute. The outfit was one of her favorites, and she liked her hair up, especially when paired with the bangs she had gotten over the summer.

She grabbed her bag, making sure she had her iPod and iHome, a change of clothes and sneakers for tryouts as well as toiletries and a couple of extra outfits just in case she got a Slushie facial. Things may have been going smoother this year, but Glee club was still a nonentity on the high school social ladder.

When she was positive she had everything and that she was completely ready she left her house, with of course more than enough time to spare before school.

When she walked down the halls of William McKinley High School after the short drive, she instantly felt self conscious. She wasn't usually lacking in self esteem, but this wasn't a normal look for her to wear to school and while in her head she definitely looked more than decent, high school didn't always work out the way she thought it would or should. She might think that anyone would want a chance to 'tap this', but most often her classmates seemed more interested in crushing her.

Kurt and Mercedes were the first ones she saw, and their double takes were comical. She wanted to act like nothing unusual was up, but she had a feeling neither of them would buy it.

"Good morning Kurt, Mercedes. How are you guys this-"

"Rachel Barbara Berry!"

"Yes?" Seriously, again with the squeaking? How the hell did Kurt Hummel get a squeak out of her? This couldn't be at all good for her pitch.

Mercedes took her turn looking Rachel over. "Girl, all this time you forced us to look at you dressed like a first grader and you had these clothes hiding in your closet? That's not even right Rach."

"So I take it that you guys like my outfit today?" The two of them could be a lot to take at times.

Kurt linked his arm through Rachel's as they walked to her locker. "My dear we're going to have an impromptu glee meeting at your house ASAP!"

Rachel immediately got excited. "Oh really? How soon? Like tonight? Should I bake? Oh we need an agenda! What's the meeting for again? Wait…what does that have to do with my outfit today?"

Mercedes caught on fast, and both of them had matching smiles on their faces. They looked happy, in a sick demented way. "We're going to burn anything with an animal or plaid print on it."

Once again Rachel was stunned silent, if only for a moment. She actually pouted for a bit, before putting on her resolve face. "Okay, but just not the bears because I _really_ love the bears. Bears really are universally adorable you know hence them being Teddy Bears, and if one of our fine presidents loved them so much, why can't I?"

Kurt stopped and looked at Rachel for a moment. "This is high school – you do _not_ want to be adorable. Anyway, which one with the bears?" He waved his hand as if to dismiss his own question and continued walking and dragging Rachel behind him. "It doesn't even matter. They're all going down."

They pretended not to hear Rachel's sulky response.

"The pink one. I _really_ like that one."

Puck and Finn nearly walked into a wall when they saw Rachel approach her locker with Kurt and Mercedes happily chattering at her side. Both young men immediately wondered why their relationships ended so abruptly with her when clearly she was so..._hot_.

"Hey Rach. You look nice today. Like _really_ nice." Finn looked vaguely like one of those wacky waving inflatable flailing arm tube man thingies, only with a really goofy looking grin on his face.

"Yeah Berry. You're like smokin'." Puck was Puck, and essentially dripped sex. He casually draped an arm over her shoulders and looked her up and down. When his eyes finally made their way to her face he was wearing his typical smirk. "So...you wanna make out?"

Rachel tried _really_ hard not to blush, but let's face it - Puck was hot, smelled _really_ good right now, and his arms _really_ were quite lovely. Plus she heard the rumors about how he was in bed and remembered kissing him. She wasn't entirely sure how and why she hadn't slept with him when she had the chance.

"Back off Puck, she doesn't wanna take a ride on the _Puckasaurus_." Everyone nearly broke their necks turning around when they heard the voice of Quinn Fabray. They all backed off and parted to let the trio of Cheerios through, because that's just what you did with when the head cheerleader and her two besties showed up. "We're just speaking as members of the been there, done that club though - population many, regrets many, _many_ more." Noah flipped her the bird with his free hand and the three Cheerios just mock glared at him before turning their attention to Rachel. Santana looked Rachel up and down in a fashion that was eerily similar to how Puck had just looked at her.

"Hey Berry, looking good enough to eat. Ready for later? Cuz I can't wait."

Once again Santana winked at her and then actually blew her a kiss. She didn't even know how to begin dealing with that, but luckily Puck was still there – with his arm still resting comfortably across her shoulders. She was surprised at how much she didn't hate the way that felt. "Hey Satan, jealous much?"

"Why should I be? It's not like you're competition. Besides you had your chance and totally blew it."

"We hot Jews believe in forgiveness and second chances."

"Oh _bullshit_!"

"What? Are you denying that we're clearly two hot Jews or that we believe in forgiveness?"

Rachel continued getting what she would need from her locker and was amused that a conversation regarding her preferences was being held without her input. She was also enjoying having two of the most popular kids in the school fighting for her, and she wasn't the only one to notice. As she shut her locker, both Kurt and Mercedes leaned into give their two cents.

"See what happens when you abandon animal sweaters girl?"

"And argyle. We should go shopping for more of these sexy clothes to replace what we destroy" Rachel was admittedly hesitant. She had issues trusting Kurt's opinion when she remembered him making her look like a reject from a Grease revival.

"And for a little white girl, you have an _ass_. You can't hide a body like that under crappy clothes Rachel, cuz then no one is ever gonna wanna tap that."

Now why did it sound cooler when Mercedes said it? Puck squeezed her shoulder lightly and whispered in her ear. "I'd _so_ tap that and more baby, and the plaid skirts and knee socks can stay on cuz that shit is hot. I totally dig the naughty school girl look" Rachel could feel goosebumps _everywhere_ and flushed a deep red at Puck's comment.

"You see? You're clearly making her uncomfortable Puck." Quinn had finally decided to join in instead of smirking in the background. "Wouldn't you rather have a hot Cheerio over a dumb jock?" Quinn smirked as Rachel only got redder. "Hypothetically speaking, of course."

"Either sounds _really_ hot actually." Rachel's eyes widened when she realized that she had actually spoken that thought out loud. She quickly slapped her hand over her mouth and attempted to turn around as fast as possible to escape, but her about face was met by a wall of solid muscle. She meekly looked up to find Karofsky leering down at her with a Slushie in his hand.

"Hey Berry. Gotcha this Cherry Slushie...in honor of you of course – get it? Berry, Cherry – and now it seems like a waste to toss it all over that hot body, so I was thinking you could have this Berry, and maybe later on let me at your Cher-"

Finn, who was normally kinda slow and very mild mannered, had moved before Karofsky could even finish his thought. In a blink of an eye Finn's arm was across Karofsky's beefy neck and had him pressed hard against the lockers.

"I'm sorry, were you saying something?"

All Rachel could think was where was this guy last year? She had only seen him _very_ angry once, when the whole babygate drama came to a head and right now he seemed almost as angry. When all Finn got as a response was a gasping choking sound he released him and watched him try not to run down the hallway.

"Next time you'll be wearing that Cherry Slushie asshole!" Puck put his arm back around her shoulders and held her to him like it was an everyday occurrence. "Plus I know you like grape, right babe?" He gave her shoulders a squeeze and smiled down at her. She could almost believe that he always protected her and defended her honor, and that he wasn't once the one cheering Karofsky on, or giving her the Slushie facial himself. Santana rolled her eyes and Quinn quirked an eyebrow.

"Finn's so tall and Rachel is so tiny. How did that work?"

The warning bell rang and gave everyone a reason to ignore Brittany's question. Everyone quickly gathered their things and rushed off to their first classes.

"See you at noon Treasure Trail." Quinn paused to shoot Rachel one last remark before she went in the opposite direction with the other two Cheerios flanking her. "Don't be late. Sylvester hates tardiness more than she hates Jillian Michaels."

"Hasta luego, querida." Santana gave her a quick flirtatious smile before linking pinkies with Brittany and following Quinn.

With Puck's arm still around her shoulders and Kurt and Mercedes still plotting on how to get rid of the majority of her wardrobe, Rachel made her way to class happier than she remembered feeling in a while. The attention felt good.  
"So are you really down for a threesome with me and Santana? You have no idea how fucking hot that is."

Rachel blushed yet again, but chose to ignore Puck's comment."Why is your arm still around me Noah? I'm going to class."

"I know. We have the same class."

Kurt and the other two gleeks looked at him as if he were an alien. Rachel was the first to speak. "Noah, you never go to Math class - like _ever_. This is the time when you usually take a nap in the nurse's office."

Puck shrugged his shoulders and gave Rachel one of his patented looks – not his sexy smirk, but the one where he dipped his head and looked up at her through his lashes and actually looked kinda sweet. "Yeah, but today you look better than the nurse and you totally dig smart guys, right?"

Kurt and Mercedes shook their heads as they all approached their class. Kurt leaned into whisper in Rachel's ear as they walked into the classroom seconds before the final bell. "See? You made Noah Puckerman go to class. The world is your oyster sweetie - _own_ it."

Rachel smiled to herself as she sat down and gave half of her attention to the lesson and taking notes. This really was kind of fun and she could so get used to it. Hot guy, hot girls and leaving school in the same outfit she came in…oh yeah, she could _definitely_ get used to this.

**I'm impressed! I wrote over 2,000 words while delivering mediocre customer service (with a smile). I'm thinking one, maybe two more chapters before I end this. I hope everyone enjoyed and I look forward to seeing reviews : - )**

**Coming up next (hopefully within the next week): The moment we've all been waiting for where Rachel gets to tryout. Can she make the cut, and how will the other gleeks (especially Puck and Finn) react after 'accidentally' seeing Rachel's tryout?**


	5. Chapter 5: Tryout

Summary: Rachel's tryout to an audience that is far bigger than she thinks.

Disclaimer: Negotiations are in the works….between me and my therapist who wants me to give up the delusion that I could ever own Glee, so I'm sad to say that I do not own Glee or any of it's characters : - )

Chapter 5: Tryout

The morning went by way too fast. Before she knew it, it was 11:45 and she had just finished changing into a red and white t-shirt with the William McKinley High School logo embossed across the front, a matching pair of gym shorts, and a pair of white Adidas. She had almost considered buying an entire Adidas outfit or a tracksuit to appeal to Sue Sylvester, since that seemed to be _all_ the woman wore, but that just seemed like too much. Plus there was no way she could do her routine in a tracksuit, she wouldn't be able to move properly and would probably die from heat exhaustion, so she went for comfort over trying to stroke Sue Sylvester's already huge ego. As she made her way into the gym with a small duffle, she saw Ms. Sylvester with her arms at her hips and the three Cheerio glee club members standing beside her. Quinn and Santana had their arms crossed over their chests and wore identical smirks while Brittany twirled the ends of her ponytail and stared off into space. A part of her wondered why Finn and Britt never dated since they both seemed so...not bright. Rachel shrugged to herself, figuring Britt's promiscuity would end up being a problem. A sharp blow from a whistle startled Rachel from her musings. She immediately straightened up and tried to look as cheerful and attentive as she could. She tried not to cringe as the Cheerios coach approached her.

"So you're finally ready to join the elite? Do you really have what it takes? We're all winners here you know."

Rachel's eyes narrowed instinctively as the coach hit on several sore spots.

"I know all about winning Ms. Sylvester, and I also know about cheering on a team that everyone thinks is going to lose. I'm a born performer and a born winner, and like the Cheerios I have had to lend my support to a team who would probably be lost without my talent, and even with me they're still not perfect or 'winners'. Regardless of whatever team I'm on, I always work hard to make sure I shine, so yeah, I think I can handle it. Really I should ask how well _you_ can handle a high maintenance diva like myself, but I'm sure you'll survive, right?"

The cheerleading coach looked mildly shocked and impressed while the Cheerios looked like they wanted to laugh at the way tiny ass Rachel Berry stood up to Sylvester. The older woman had clearly never been on the receiving end of one of Rachel Berry's rants.

"Well aren't you just a little ball of sunshine. I don't know if that feeling in my chest is gas or a bubble of joy resting over my heart. Maybe you're not a complete loser like those other High School Musical social rejects. When I finally get around to reminding Figgins how blackmail works and he gets with my plan to ship all of you losers off to New York, you might actually be okay. Now stop wasting my time. You're short so I already have to bend over to even acknowledge you and I feel like I'm forced to talk slower to overcompensate which is making this conversation longer than planned. Get to it!"

Rachel didn't jump, and for that she was proud of herself. She glanced over at the Cheerios. Quinn and Santana looked slightly impatient while Brittany danced in place to a song that apparently only she could hear. Rachel braced herself and brought out her iPod and iHome, and set it up on a table near the coach and Cheerios. She scrolled down to the custom mix she had created just for this routine and walked to the center of the gym with the small remote in her hand.

She stood perfectly straight with her hands at her hips as she waited. When she saw the Cheerios nod their encouragement and Sylvester wave for her to go on, she pressed Play on her remote and tossed it in the general direction of her stuff. 'Well, here goes nothing' she thought to herself.

The way information travelled through glee club was truly amazing. Information travelled with a speed, efficiency and most surprisingly and importantly an accuracy that the government couldn't even begin to match. Seriously the gleeks were _good_.

While in math class Puck sat next to Rachel and it became apparent that he had no intentions of doing any kind of work while in class.

"Yo Berry, why are you going to be seeing the Cheerios later?"

Rachel feigned innocence. "What are you talking about?" Puck's look told her he didn't buy it, and she was starting to get worried about her acting skills. There was no way she could make it on Broadway if she had problems lying in high school. "I'm seeing them later? Must have slipped my mind Noah." In hopes of distracting Puck from his question, Rachel 'accidentally' dropped a pencil in between her and Puck and slowly bent down to pick it up, allowing him a long look down her shirt. She _really_ did not want to be having this conversation, and most definitely _not_ with him.

Puck didn't disappoint and he not so discretely stared at the impressive cleavage her bra managed to give her for as long as he could. What she didn't count on was him not having the attention span of Finn or Britt. When his eyes met hers again his smile told her he knew what she was up to. Realizing her plan – which always seemed to work in the movies – wouldn't be working today she gave in.

"The Cheerios dared me to try out for the squad."

Kurt and Mercedes were sitting right behind them, and weren't even trying to hide the fact that they were listening.

"Another gleek on the squad? I would love it, especially since Mercedes left me."

Mercedes rolled her eyes at Kurt's obvious enthusiasm. "She's already tiny. She won't have to worry about her friends looking like food." She gave Rachel an insanely happy smile. "You could so rock a Cheerios uniform girl."

Puck had a look on his face that looked similar to Finn's goofy grin. When he realized that all eyes were on him, he cleared his throat and fixed his face before looking at Rachel again, classic smirk back in place. "You know it's my duty to _personally_ welcome _every_ new Cheerio to the squad, right?" He shrugged as if he hated his life and self appointed duties at times. "Don't fight it Berry, some things are just meant to be."

Rachel rolled her eyes at him, before smiling to herself. She leaned forward, giving him another look at her cleavage and watched as his eyes followed her movements. When she was close to his ear, she lowered her voice to what she hoped was a seductive whisper. "Did Becky and Kurt get the same welcome that you're so _kindly_ offering me Noah?" His eyes widened and he nearly choked when her meaning became clear. She smirked as he looked almost insulted while Kurt and Mercedes watched, obviously dying to know what just happened.

Puck shared the next period with Matt, Mike, Finn and Artie. When Puck told them about Rachel becoming a Cheerio all four guys looked shocked and all wore identical goofy grins because while everyone found her annoyingly intense and just plain crazy at times, there was no denying that she was hot and would look even hotter in a cheerleading uniform - or out of it as Puck pointed out. There was also no doubt that she would make it onto the squad. They could all see their team get even worse as they got distracted by the soon to be Cheerio.

"Why can't cheerleaders be ugly?"

Everyone looked at Finn as if he just told them that Mr. Schue should rap during a game.

"Seriously dude, do you also think your cat reads your diary and that the square root of four is rainbows?

"What? Then they wouldn't be so distracting."

Puck shook his head and slapped Finn on the back. "Just keep thinking of mailmen dude."

During that same period Kurt and Mercedes had a class with Tina. They let her in on the gossip.

During the next period Artie met with his friends from the AV club, because everyone agreed that this _had_ to be on tape. This would be awesome on Youtube, and would be so much better on MySpace then her singing.

By noon the remaining Glee members were all in on the plan and were hiding in the gymnasium. Artie had gotten a hold of four cameras and four walkie-talkie headsets in exchange for two boxes each of Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Suzy Q's as well as a copy of Rachel's performance – cuz Artie was kind of a shit liar and wound up spilling why he needed the equipment. They were paired off and each pair had a camera and walkie-talkie. Puck was with Finn, Artie with Tina, Mike with Matt and of course Kurt was with Mercedes. They had the bright idea, Artie's idea really, to capture Rachel's tryout from multiple angles and edit it together so it looked professional. She would probably love the footage, as thorough as it was, if she ever found out about it. They were spread out and carefully hidden from detection from the Cheerios or Sylvester. The boys took extra pleasure in the fact that they got to wear headsets and feel all James Bond like - even Kurt.

~*~  
As soon as the music came on Rachel stopped being nervous. Her body moved easily to the beat, and everything she practiced flowed through her naturally as if she did this every day. She remained smiling, and focused, but couldn't stop herself from looking over at the Cheerios. The term cheer-sex from Bring it On came to her mind as she kept glancing their way, especially during the more provocative moves. She caught Santana's eyes and saw her small smile when a sample from Oye Mi Canto came on. None of the Cheerios hid their smiles when pieces of Bad Romance and Bust a Move played. Seeing their reactions boosted her confidence and made her push herself even harder. This was nothing more than yet another performance, and she's never had a performance that was less than top notch. She completely lost herself in the music and the pulsing beats, and felt deliriously happy each time she felt her body execute another move flawlessly. Her aerials, handsprings and jumps were higher and her choreography and stunts were smoother than ever. She was talented and beyond energetic, she was damn near effervescent and she clearly had all of the skills and abilities needed and then some. There was no way she wasn't on the squad - whether she really wanted on or not.

When she finally finished her routine with a perfect side split, complete silence filled the gymnasium. She didn't show how apprehensive she felt as she held her final pose with a bright smile and waited for someone to say something. Maybe she really wasn't that good or maybe cheerleading was harder than it looked. She just gave it her all, and if there wasn't any kind of praise for that then maybe this just wasn't for her.

She wanted to get up and run away as the silence seemed to drag out endlessly until she heard it. Sue started clapping and before she knew it the Cheerios were joining in - with Brittany happily bouncing and dancing. Rachel was pretty sure Britt had no clue why they were clapping, but since she herself was also clueless it didn't seem like a huge deal.

"Girls, get over here!" Rachel wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Sylvester's face was still expressionless despite her clapping. Rachel stood up as the three Cheerios sauntered over to Ms. Sylvester. The older woman looked them all over for a few moments before breaking the deafening silence again.

"You let a handicapped girl show you up. How do you feel about yourselves? I have no problem bringing in the entire Special Olympics to do your sloppy ass routines if that's where the talent is."

Rachel's brows furrowed. "Um I'm not handicapped Ms. Sylvester."

The coach abruptly turned her attention back to Rachel. "What do you prefer? Disabled? Special?"

"Nothing. I'm normal."

Ms. Sylvester frowned at that. "You sure? You're awfully short. I thought for sure there was some developmental problems there like no breast milk or oxygen or something like that."

Rachel looked down at herself and frowned. "Two gay dads, so yeah no breast milk, but still normal." Rachel felt herself shrink under the woman's harsh gaze. She meekly shrugged her shoulders. She already knew when to expect that annoying squeaky voice. "I'm just short or petite actually."

"I think she likes Vertically Challenged."

Rachel sent a death glare at Santana. All she got was a shrug and an innocent smile in return.

"She's like fun sized…oh, like a Happy Meal!"

Quinn and Santana struggled not to laugh while for whatever reason Brittany hummed the Toys R Us song. Rachel rolled her eyes and apparently Ms. Sylvester didn't even bother trying to find the logic.

"Hmm, who knew." She glared at Rachel for a few more moments before turning back to the Cheerios.

"Well little Timmy over here showed me today that even plankton scraped from the depths of the high school social hierarchy have more talent than any of you! Did you see her choreography? Her _pep_? Her god damned jumps and flips. If I didn't have to go see about a wart, I would have you doing calisthenics and aerobics until you saw stars!" With that said, the cheerleading coach started to walk away from the stunned girls. She got about four steps away before she stopped and spoke to Rachel over her shoulder.

"By the way Berry, Give Quinn your measurements. I'd be proud to call you a Cheerio."

Shocked silence filled the gymnasium for the next few minutes, until Brittany spoke.

"I told you she's a really good dancer."

Quinn and Santana exchanged looks before turning back to Rachel. They took their time regarding her. Quinn raised an eyebrow at her before speaking.

"Well I guess you showed us."

"Yeah Berry, totally proved us wrong."

Their faces were expressionless for what seemed like forever before breaking out into smiles. Santana was the first to speak as she gave Rachel an impressed look.

"I knew you'd rock this Stubbles, but _damn_. I know you didn't learn all that overnight. Sylvester wasn't playing, you kicked ass. Fucking full-twisting double back, who _does_ that?" Santana sounded almost annoyed, but both she and Quinn looked impressed – almost in awe.

"Yeah Man-Hands. How the hell do you know what a front or back walkover is? Or a round-off? That was insane. Are you like related to Shawn Johnson? You're gonna wind up being our new flyer."

Rachel flushed as she finally caught up to everything that was going on around her. "Oh my god. I'm going to be a Cheerio." She still wasn't sure how she felt about that. Her schedule was tight as it was, but her tryout was such a rush. If she was a Cheerio it would be like going up on stage to a full house all the time – not to mention instant popularity. "I thought you said this would be hard?"

Quinn gave her a sad half-smile. "Wait till your first weigh in."

Santana shrugged the negativity off. "Not that we need it, compared to blondies over there at least, but tanning privileges totally rock."

They made their way towards the locker rooms and showers. The other three Cheerios seemed to be more excited to get Rachel her new uniform than Rachel could ever be. She suspected she was still in shock. When she suddenly laughed out loud, they all stopped to look at her. She bit her lip nervously before laughing again. "Cheerleaders and jocks in glee club, gleeks as cheerleaders and jocks – what's this school coming to?" Santana rolled her eyes and grabbed Rachel's arm to continue on their way to the locker room.

"Don't start singing, and don't expect us to invite every poor soul to be popular, cuz then what's the point? Jacob Ben Israel isn't even suited to do our laundry – just cuz he would like it too much."

They all shuddered at the thought. Rachel chose not to mention that he already had a pair of her underwear. That was definitely _not _a good way to start on the road to popularity.

When the other glee club members were sure that the coast was clear they quietly left their hiding spots and left the gym as fast as possible. In the hallway everyone just stared at each other waiting for someone to speak. Mercedes was the one to finally break the silence.

"That was hot. Girl can _move. _I swear she channeled a pom-pom carrying Beyonce or something." She started bumping her hips with Kurt as she hummed one of the songs from Rachel's mix.

"Yo did you guys see her legs? I swear she got her leg so damn high it would touch Finn's head."

Artie, with the obvious exception of Kurt, was the only guy who didn't automatically give anyone a high five at Puck's comment. He was still trying to calm down an upset Tina, who had apparently felt like Artie had enjoyed Rachel's tryout a little too much – as in _felt_ it. He was trying to convince her it was because she was sitting on his lap, but seeing as how his eyes were glued to Rachel through the camera lens she wasn't buying it.

When the warning bell rang Artie collected the equipment from everyone and then the glee kids all went their separate ways to their afternoon classes. Glee rehearsal later would definitely be interesting.

**I had some trouble with this chapter, but it was still fun to write. Next and last (I think?) chapter coming up soon. **

**Coming up next: It's a surprise to both me and you, lol. Basically the story comes to an end (Trust me, I'm sad to see the end of Rachel Berry as a Cheerio as well!) and we all find out what exactly is in store for Rachel. I hope everyone enjoyed and if you did than review and alert. The story will be updated within the week. : - ) **


	6. Chapter 6: It all comes to this

**A/N – FINALLY! It's here! I am so sorry for how long this took. I know I usually say a week and its been up the next day, but with Labor Day wknd, work has been really hectic and I wanted to try and give this story the ending it deserved. So this has been sitting on my Blackberry and when I could I worked on it – on the train, bathroom, stockroom….in front of that one customer who annoyed me – until I could get to my PC. Better late than never, right? No sex, I think I just made it M for language. Enjoy and please review and alert. Oh and I apologize in advance for any mistakes, cuz I'm working on like no sleep. : - )**

**Disclaimer: Nope, I checked and I still don't own anything associated with Glee. **

**Chapter 6: It all comes down to this….**

Quinn, Santana and Brittany went to go get Rachel everything she would need along with order forms for extras while Rachel took a quick shower and got ready for the rest of her classes. She had just finished toweling off and gotten into her bra and boy shorts when the Cheerios came back.

"Oh look, no chest hair and cute set too. Love the color." Santana smiled at her and lightly clapped her hands. "You also fill out that bra very nicely. I'm impressed."

Rachel rolled her eyes at Santana's comment, but chose to otherwise ignore it and continued getting ready. She didn't even bother covering up. "We never said what I got when I win, you know since you guys didn't think I could make the cut."

Santana rolled her eyes and Quinn laughed out loud before stopping herself. When she had herself under control she looked at Rachel as if she were insane. "Are you kidding me? You really thought we doubted you? No one in their right mind would doubt you could do anything you put your crazy little mind to."

"Then why the hell did you challenge me? Now I'm a Cheerio and I can't even quit!" She pointed a finger at each girl. "Your coach is insane. She would _crucify_ me. She would probably accuse me of being a spy and actually try to crucify me"

"What's so bad about being a Cheerio?"

"Popularity, a free workout – " Santana ticked off answers to Quinn's rhetorical question.

"Time consuming, a lot of work and I've already mentioned your crazy ass coach."

The three girls slowly approached Rachel and backed her up until she was against the wall and they stood about a foot away from her.

"I saw your face out there, and you were having so much fun. And you proved how well you can do it, so what the hell is the problem. When was the last time you challenged yourself that much? When you beat Kurt or Mercedes or fucking Tina for a solo? What's so bad about joining the Cheerios and actually enjoying your last two years of high school?" Quinn looked almost angry that Rachel was so hesitant about being a Cheerio.

"All I was supposed to do was tryout and prove it wasn't that hard. I don't even know how I got so caught up."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "So? What's the big deal? Now prove that it's not hard to do it all and have it all. Be a Broadway diva and a Cheerleader. You get the best of both worlds and perks galore. It's really a total win-win"

"Perks like what? Tanning that I clearly do not need?"

She caught the look all three girls exchanged but couldn't decipher the meaning.

"Among others."

She frowned at Quinn's vague answer and at the devious smirks each girl wore on their face. "Oh. Well what about – "

Quinn's lips were very soft. Rachel felt shock, and confusion and admittedly arousal, but that's the only thought she could come up with. Quinn kept the kiss brief and when she pulled back she searched Rachel's eyes. Her smile was slow coming and almost tender looking. "You think too much. Most girls would be excited about how hot they would look."

"Speaking of which..." Santana looked at Brittany expectantly. Brittany just looked lost. "What? Who's a witch?" Rachel knew that Britt spacing out was a daily occurrence, but it always amazed her how no one ever snapped at her or lost their patience. "The uniforms Britts."

Brittany smiled and happily and walked over to Rachel. Her blue eyes sparkled as she brought her hand out from behind her back and whipped out a see through garment bag containing crisp new uniforms. Rachel could feel a bubble of nervous laughter wanting to get out because she really was excited. She could see herself in one of those freakishly tiny uniforms the way she could see herself performing on Broadway. Any doubts she had were put on hold when she saw her new uniforms and a duffle bag with the WMHS logo on it that probably contained various other supplies she would need. It was just a stupid uniform, but that uniform meant power and popularity and was just plain hot. That tiny uniform meant everything Rachel told herself she didn't really want or need in life because she was too dedicated to becoming a star someday. Why the hell wait for someday when she could be a mini superstar right now.

"I can't wait to toss you."

Rachel turned frightened eyes to Quinn and Santana. Both girls laughed at the look of horror on her face. Quinn took the garment bag while Santana went over to Brittany and linked their pinkies as they got ready to leave the locker room. "Don't worry Rach, Britts here is _really_ good at dance, gymnastics and cheerleading, almost as good as you are apparently." With that Santana and Britt walked out of the locker room, leaving Rachel and Quinn alone. Rachel blushed as she realized that she was still standing there in her underwear. She quickly grabbed her clothes and started to get dressed.

"You know you _are_ a Cheerio now, you should shock everyone and wear your new uniform." Rachel paused with one leg poised in the air waiting to go into her jeans and looked back and forth between Quinn and the garment bag. Quinn stood in front of her and dangled the uniforms in her face and watched as her pretty brown eyes followed the garment bag swing back and forth. Quinn smiled as she felt Rachel start to give in. The look she was giving the uniform wasn't all that different from the look she used to give to her and Finn when they were the WMHS power couple. She was eyeing the uniform longingly. "Come on Midget, I can see it in your eyes." Quinn's voice dropped even lower, sounding soft and sweet. "You know you wanna."

Rachel bit her lip and frowned. "I really shouldn't…I mean what if this was a mistake or I can't perform like that every night or – "

Quinn leaned down until she was at eye level with the shorter brunette. She placed her pointer finger on Rachel's full lips and smiled when Rachel's mouth snapped shut almost audibly. "Wear it Rachel."

Rachel's eyes widened at Quinn's use of her actual name. It seemed to be physically impossible for anyone to call her by her name too often. If it wasn't an insulting nickname it was some abbreviation. She felt that bubble of excitement again. "Okay."

Quinn's eyes stayed on her as she pulled on a pair of spanks followed by the rest of one of the crisp new uniforms. It felt _really_ good and when she checked herself out in the mirror she looked good too. The ponytail and bangs, the sexy, but functional uniform – she looked hot. It took her what seemed like forever to figure out how to make it through high school, and all she needed was a change of clothes. Quinn walked over to her under the pretense of helping her adjust the uniform. Her hands grazed over Rachel's breast, her ass and her exposed legs. "Looks really good, doesn't it?"

Rachel examined her reflection from different angles. She met Quinn's eyes in the mirror with a small smile on her face. "I was just thinking the same thing."

Quinn smiled at her and slapped her on the ass. "Good, now hurry up and let's go. The guys are gonna shit a brick."

Rachel blushed and quickly got the last of her things together and allowed Quinn to grab her arm and walk her out.

"So perks, huh? Sounds kinda hot."

Quinn sent her a smirk. "You have no idea Berry.

The only thing that could tear the gleek's attention away from video of the latest gossip was that gossip walking into the room. Rachel looked – well aside from like a walking, talking teenage wet dream – a little apprehensive. Eleven pairs of eyes followed her as she rushed over to a seat in the front and off to the side without looking up. She didn't acknowledge anyone else in the room. She immediately began studying a book as if that alone would get her into Julliard or a chance to meet Barbara Streisand. No one felt like pointing out she was staring at a blank notebook – that was also upside down.

She blames the kiss and Quinn's use of her name for her thinking that this was a good idea. As soon as Quinn left her side to go to her own class, Rachel felt self conscious. If she thought the attention she got this morning was bad, she felt positively overwhelmed by the shocked stares and hushed whispers that seemed to follow her down the halls. She felt completely out of her element. Even though she knew she looked great, the stress of all those eyes on her and everyone talking about her as if she wasn't there was starting to freak her out.

She was happy that she didn't share a single afternoon class with another glee club member. She should have been more comfortable because she knew and trusted her fellow gleeks, but because of the fact that she knew them that just meant they would be bolder as they talked about her and stared. She made good use of the fact that they weren't in any of the same classes. She spent the afternoon using that to her advantage in order to help her avoid them or anyone else she would know. She briefly considered just skipping the rest of the day, but realized she would have to face this at some point because clearly she was now a Cheerio and would be expected to wear her uniform every single day. She might as well deal with the stress now rather than delay the inevitable.

When she finally walked into the choir room at the end of the day she avoided eye contact with everyone and immediately hurried over to a seat way off to the side, but still near the front. For once she wasn't the first one in class since she spent the time after her last class locked in the bathroom trying not to have a panic attack. She was supposed to be the glee club's captain. How could she ensure that they made it to Nationals if she was distracted by cheers and Pom Poms. It took her about five minutes to calm herself down and convince herself that skipping one little practice really was a bad idea.

It took her about fifteen minutes to realize that she wasn't reading anything. Not just that she wasn't paying attention, but that the page was blank and somehow upside down. It took her twenty minutes to realize that the classroom was deathly silent.

When she looked up, her fears were confirmed. Every single eye was on her. The looks ranged from shock (Mr. Schue), impressed (Tina, Mercedes and Kurt), goofy grins (Puck, Matt, Mike and Finn) and knowing smirks (the Cheerios). It's not like she wasn't expecting the other gleeks didn't know. Since she let it slip in front of Kurt and Mercedes this morning she was surprised that Vocal Adrenaline hadn't heard about it yet. She just wasn't sure why it was such a big deal, but judging by the looks on their faces it was definitely a _huge_ deal.

"Is this for a glee number I don't know about?"

Rachel just rolled her eyes at Mr. Schue's usual cluelessness while Kurt eagerly filled him in. "Our darling petite diva here was dared to try out for the Cheerios and since she totally rocked her auditions like an Olympian, she's now a Cheerio."

"Yeah and it was so hot." When Rachel shot both boys a suspicious look, Kurt just looked innocent while Puck kept looking her up and down in her tiny uniform. She didn't even want to know how they knew how her audition went.

"Is this true Rachel?" Rachel turned apprehensive eyes to her Spanish teacher and glee coach. She just nodded and waited for his response. She knew he had issues with Kurt and Mercedes joining, she hoped he was over it. She didn't want to deal with criticism from him on top of all the other added stress. "It's a lot of work I'm sure, but if anyone can do it you can. Congrats Rachel. You look great."

She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. "Thanks Mr. Schue."

"I think that in honor of this _very_ big news, we should call it quits for today. Who's going to be able to concentrate when one of our very own went from loser to Cheerio literally overnight." Everyone seemed to agree with Kurt, and once Mr. Schue realized he was severely outnumbered he agreed as well.

"Okay guys, I now when I'm beaten. I'm going to go speak to Ms. Pillsbury for a while, and you guys can hang out in here and celebrate Rachel's newest achievement."

"Oh you have no idea Mr. Schue. Achievement is an understatement, she _killed _those auditions – like set the bar for every future Cheerio. She totally told Sylvester off and then gave her a run for her money. Plus the girl can definitely _move_!" Mercedes was still looking at the now muted footage of Rachel's tryout. It took her a few moments before she realized she had just given herself and everyone else away. She closed her eyes and prayed silently to herself in hopes that no one, especially Rachel, would pick up on her mistake. When the silence continued to fill the room, she slowly opened her eyes and realized that she was definitely busted.

Oblivious to the current tension in the room Mr. Schue gathered his stuff and headed out the room. "If you guys could work in some singing while here I wouldn't object. See you next week guys." No one acknowledged him as he walked out the door.

That was yet another reference to her tryouts. Last time she checked only four other people should know how her auditions went. Rachel turned dark, unreadable eyes towards the Cheerios, who looked as shocked as she felt, then to Mercedes who offered up a timid smile and finally to the others in the room who all looked anxious and uncomfortable as if they were trying find the best way to leave the room unscathed. "How did you know how well I did during my audition?" Her eyes were locked on Mercedes, but the question was to everyone. "You spoke almost as if -". She looked around at everyone again as the realization came to her. The way everyone, except for the Cheerios who just leaned in further as if not wanting to miss a second of the drama unfolding, looked even more uncomfortable and avoided her probing gaze. She stood up and for the first time since entering the room faced everyone completely. Her face was flushed and her hands were at her hips, but she no longer looked shy about how she looked. "It's almost as if you were there." She folded her arms across her chest and regarded them. She reminded them of a tiny volcano about to completely erupt. "So were you? Which one of you guys went, and why did you bother? Were you hoping for me to fail horribly so that you could torture me for the rest of high school. Were you all in on this? Did you all decide to get the Cheerios to find an excuse to dare me to do this so that you could laugh at me for looking like an idiot? You probably couldn't wait to watch me fall on my face! You are the sorriest excuse for a team and-"

"Oh can it Rachel! We told you there were no ulterior motives behind us giving you that dare. We knew you would rock. I don't know how those other losers found out, but it wasn't through us three. If I did something like that then I wouldn't have any chance of getting under that skirt!"

"Same for me Berry, you know I love a girl in a Cheerio's uniform."

Shocked silence followed Puck and Santana's rant. Rachel chose to ignore Puck and Santana's usual sexual innuendo. "So what was it? Why do I feel like the butt of a really bad joke?"

"You shouldn't Berry. You looked awesome! And now I'm pissed. When you were doing all that talking while we dated, you couldn't mention that you can make your legs touch your fucking head! That shit was...fuck, you just should've mentioned that!" Puck looked dead serious, and she almost wanted to laugh at him. Too bad, her feelings were still a confused mess.

"So who all saw me?" Rachel was mildly amused to see nine hands go up – the eight other gleeks plus Brittany. "Well?"

Everyone looked at each other. Tina finally stepped up with her arms folded. "Seriously? It was good, like I'm still not talking to Artie cuz he enjoyed it too much good. And I may not talk to him ever again if I find out he has his own copy of the DVD with all it's _angles_." She said the last part while glaring at Artie and missed Rachel's shocked face.

"There's a DVD?"

Five minutes later found them all crowded around the laptop Artie borrowed from the AV club watching the newly edited DVD of Rachel's audition.

"Damn Berry, it's even better than the first time." Puck shook his head at the screen. "The things we could've done had I known you could do...all those things."

"Seriously girl, where did you learn to do that?"

"That's the same thing I said. Years of cheerleading camp and only Brittany can do a side split." Santana admired Rachel's performance from over Matt's shoulders.

"It's so hard to believe I put that whole thing together in one night."

"No one likes a showoff Rach." Santana's almost proud smile belied her words.

"When you move like she does, no one minds. In fact Berry, if you wanna showoff to me later tonight I'm all for a private show." Puck gave her his best sexy smile and wiggled his eyebrows. She just laughed at him and rolled her eyes. Him and Santana were so much alike, and she found herself getting used to their dirty minds the sexual comments they made.

"I really was good, wasn't I?

"You have no idea Rach." Santana answered without looking up from the screen again.

Rachel felt slender arms slide around her waist and a delicate chin rest on her shoulders. She was fascinated by watching herself on screen, and almost jumped at the first contact. When she turned slightly she was met with smiling hazel eyes. "What are you doing Quinn?" Rachel kept her voice down to a whisper so that she wouldn't draw attention to them. Quinn's hands lightly caressed her arms and all Rachel wanted to do was lean her head back and relax in the other girl's arms. When she felt Quinn's breath along her earlobe as she whispered in her ear, Rachel nearly moaned out loud. When she looked around the only people who seemed to be paying any attention to them were Santana and Brittany.

"Consider this a perk Rachel. The Cheerios who play together, stay together. It's like a golden rule."

"Oh really?" Rachel leaned her head back so that her lips were closer to Quinn's ear. "I could definitely get used to this."

Quinn laughed lightly and squeezed Rachel's shoulders. "So you're really gonna do this? Are you ready for this? You're about to have a very busy social calendar Rachel."

Rachel knew Quinn was right. Things were going to really change for her. Luckily she's always been an overachiever. There's been very little in her life so far that she couldn't handle. Maybe Quinn was right about her having it all. Rachel glanced over at the screen and thought back on her day. She wasn't really selling out. This was just another role for her to play. She smirked to herself as she thought about what 'playing with the Cheerios' would entail. "Bring it. I'm totally ready for this."

Quinn kept her arms on Rachel as they continued to watch her on the small screen. When it ended with Ms. Sylvester telling Rachel how proud she would be to have Rachel as a Cheerio everyone still looked blown away by the performance. Quinn squeezed Rachel's shoulders again and leaned in to whisper in her ear, her voice a soft purr that sent chills up and down Rachel's spine and goosebumps all over her petite body.

"Good. I can't wait."

The End?

**I'm thinking of doing a sequel, but not for a little while. I wanna go into Rachel's new life as a Cheerio and how she balances it all. I really hope that everyone enjoyed and I thank so you guys for the reviews and alerts! It really did inspire me to keep writing. I have a Puckleberry friendship fic (inspired by the new season two promos for 'Empire') that might turn into a two or three – shot. That's all for now and thanks again everyone. Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (SBethancourt02). I sadly follow practically the whole cast. **

****AN** I've just finished going over this whole story and editing it all over again. There are probably still mistakes, but hopefully I get points for trying :-). I now feel ready to rewrite the sequel entitled Make it or Break it coming soon. I thank everyone for their reviews and private messages, because it helped me as I went over this story again and in getting myself ready to write the long awaited sequel. The positivity you guys gave me means the world to me and it is beyond greatly appreciated. **

**Luv you guys! XOXO**

**- SB**


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